BREAST CANCER THERAPY AND NOVEL NANOPARTICLE-BASED DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEMS

Ermira HODO JAHJA, Anjeza BRUCAJ, Melaize YZEIRAJ

Abstract

Drug resistance is the major cause of drug treatment failure in breast cancer patients. Chemotherapy, as the dominant approach, is the mostly used treatment modality nowadays. Classical breast cancer drugs are still widely used however, they are being replaced by nanoparticle encapsulation drug formulations, due to their high toxicity. Nanoparticle drug delivery systems have a vast contribution in chemotherapy approach nowadays. Contemporary cancer treatment studies are progressively being focused on newly designed drug formulations, which exhibit lower toxicity in normal tissues and higher specificity for tumor tissues. Novel drug delivery systems are adapted either for delivery of existing, or newly designed anti-cancer agents. They come in various sizes, shapes, different encapsulating complexes and diverse drug loading efficiencies. Such drug designs are advantageous due to the reduced resistivity of cancer cells to such chemotherapeutic agents, thus increasing the treatment efficiencies. In addition, they are delivering anti-cancer agents within the tumor microenvironment, often with cancer cell-specific receptors. Some nanoparticle drugs are currently also being used for imaging purpose. Herein, we summarize different anti-cancer drug modalities and scientific findings acquired both from in vitro and in vivo studies, with a focus on breast cancer chemotherapeutic agents. We also introduce very recent nanomedicine-based drug designs, which tend to overcome the obstacles of old treatment strategies used to treat breast cancer patients.

Pages: 178 - 190